Tag: vaccines

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Nearly 40% Of Marines Are Refusing COVID Vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine New data released Friday shows almost 40% of U.S. Marines are taking a pass on coronavirus vaccines. From CNN:

As of Thursday, approximately 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, including fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated service men and women. About 48,000 Marines have chosen not to receive vaccines, for a declination rate of 38.9%.

The military cannot make the vaccines mandatory now because they have only emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, meaning service members who are required to receive a series of other vaccinations have the option of declining shots to protect against Covid-19.

Officials say most of the vaccine hesitancy stems from concerns about the speed at which the vaccines were developed and fears over long-term effects.

According to the Pentagon, there are some 2.2 million service members operating around the globe. Read the full report here. Some folks feel the hesitancy may come from military service members tending to lean right politically and conservatives have been vocal about not wanting to take the shot – even though their savior Donald Trump will tell you he created it with his own two hands.

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Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Deliveries To Drop Due To Manufacturing Issues

Image of a vaccine shot

Image of a vaccine shot There’s going to be a big dip in Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries due to woeful failures at the contracted manufacturing plant in Maryland. From the New York Times:

Johnson & Johnson will allocate 86 percent fewer doses across the United States next week than are currently being allocated, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dealing a setback to a national vaccination campaign that has just found its footing.

The distribution of the drug, a single-shot vaccine, has been inconsistent since Johnson & Johnson delivered its first batch at the beginning of March, sending 2.8 million doses across the country before dipping below 400,000 in the following weeks.

Last month, Johnson & Johnson was forced to jettison up to 15 million doses manufactured at the factory because the batch had been contaminated with a virus used in the production of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is also manufactured there.

The Johnson & Johnson shot has been popular for it’s easier to store “one-and-done” single dose. J & J had previously promised to deliver 24 million new doses by the end of April. Read the full article here.

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Poll: 90% Of College Students Plan On Getting Vaccinated

Vials of vaccine

Vials of vaccine
(image via Depositphotos)
Axios reports the results of an exclusive poll conducted by BeatTheVirus and Generation Lab showing nearly 90% of college students are “absolutely certain” or “probably” going to get vaccinated against the coronavirus when they are eligible. In that more than 120,000 cases of COVID-19 have been traced back to universities and colleges, getting shots in those arms represents an important demographic in bringing the pandemic under control. With eligibility opening up to all adults in the next week or so across the country, many large state schools have set-up large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites on their campuses. The new polling indicates getting back to social activities is high on the students’ list of reasons to get vaccinated: • 30% said their top reason to get vaccinated was to resume in-person relationships • 23% said their top reason was to return to in-person events like sports, live performances or bars It’s worth noting, however, that a different survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed the willingness to get vaccinated sooner than later among 18-29 year-olds was 60 percent.

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News Round-Up: March 31, 2021

Trainer Michael Blevins

Trainer Michael Blevins
Fitness trainer Michael Blevins (screen capture via Boy Culture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Boy Culture: Michael Blevins (above), a close personal friend of actor Henry Cavill’s who has trained him since 2011, used Instagram Stories to argue against the COVID-19 vaccine and face masks, leaning on his belief that the main reason the virus has been so deadly — well over a million killed worldwide — is because too many of you are fat, fat, fat. • PBS: A record number of bills to limit transgender rights have been introduced this year in state legislators across the country, with lawmakers in 28 states considering 93 bills targeting the rights of transgender Americans. • KTLA: NSYNC’s Lance Bass is getting ready to open the nation’s largest gay club in West Hollywood. Bass signed a lease to rent the space that was once home to famed gay nightclub Rage, which closed in September after a 37-year run over a landlord dispute.

• AP: As Wisconsin stands on the precipice of another COVID-19 surge, the state Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate on Wednesday, stripping the governor of one of his last remaining tools to curb the spread of the coronavirus. • New York Times: Pfizer and BioNTech report that their coronavirus vaccine is extremely effective in adolescents 12 to 15 years old, perhaps even more so than in adults. No infections were found among children who received the vaccine in a recent clinical trial; they produced strong antibody responses and experienced no serious side effects. • PEOPLE: Former half-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, has announced she has tested positive for the coronavirus and is urging people to wear face masks. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Over at KIT212 the ‘Song of the Day’ is Madonna’s “Live To Tell,” inspired by a Facebook post by one of my favorite LGBTQ journalists, Jeremy Kinser, who declares the tune is Madge’s best ballad. I agree with Jeremy and Kenneth. (Although, ‘Rain’ comes in a close second…)

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Data Confirms Moderna & Pfizer Vaccines Are Highly Effective In Real-World Use

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine Now that the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines have been utilized in millions of people for a few months now, health professionals are looking at actual real-world data which shows both are indeed highly effective at preventing COVID-19 infections. From the New York Times:

Consistent with clinical trial data, a two-dose regimen prevented 90 percent of infections by two weeks after the second shot. One dose prevented 80 percent of infections by two weeks after vaccination.

There has been debate over whether vaccinated people can still get asymptomatic infections and transmit the virus to others. The study, by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested that transmission may be extremely unlikely, as infections were so rare.

There also has been concern that variants may render the vaccines less effective. The study’s results do not confirm that fear. Troubling variants were circulating during the time of the study — from December 14, 2020 to March 13, 2021 — yet the vaccines still provided powerful protection.

In related news, President Biden will announce today that 90% of adults will be eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine within the next three weeks, which moves up his earlier deadline. Plus, the number of pharmacies distributing the vaccines will double soon.

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NYC: COVID Vaccination Site For Broadway Industry Workers Announced

(photo: Ludovic Bertron/Flickr)
Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced plans to create a coronavirus vaccination site on Broadway that will be reserved for theater industry workers. The mayor added there will be additional city resources dedicated to the push to reopen Broadway theaters by this fall. From the New York Times:

At a news conference, Mr. de Blasio said that in addition to the Broadway vaccination site, there would be a mobile vaccination unit to serve theater workers beyond Broadway. The sites will be staffed by theater workers, many of whom have been relying on unemployment insurance since Broadway shut down over a year ago.

The city’s plans will not change the state’s rules around vaccine eligibility, which currently allow residents older than 50 to sign up for shots, as well as those in certain job categories and with certain health conditions. Mr. de Blasio said that the sites would be set up over the next four weeks or so and that vaccination eligibility is expected to be much more broad by then.

I want to stress that last part – theater workers won’t be ‘jumping the line’ to get vaccinated. These plans are being initiated in advance of when eligibility opens up as requested by President Biden. Earlier this month, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that arts, entertainment and events venues will be allowed to reopen April 2 at 33 percent capacity up to a maximum of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors. While Broadway shows can’t afford to operate at 100 tickets per performance, it’s expected that there will be some special events inside Broadway theaters throughout the spring and summer. Trust and believe – the Broadway theater community is a resilient one. Just like streaming/virtual events have become the new normal over the past year, I’m sure we’ll be seeing some exciting live theater moments in the near future.

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Podcast: Captain America, Japan & Marriage Equality, The LGBTQ Tribe Takes The Call

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this week’s podcast: • Japan takes a baby step towards marriage equality • A transgender student won a large settlement in his discrimination lawsuit against a school district in Minnesota • A pharmacist came to the aid of LGBTQ seniors in Brooklyn • New polling shows strong support for the Equality Act • Marvel Comics has announced a gay Captain America on the way • And the LGBTQ tribe answers the call – link to Twitter thread here. All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast

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AstraZeneca Vaccine Found To Be 79% Effective Against COVID

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine UPDATE: Federal health officials said early Tuesday that results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine may have relied on “outdated information” that “may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,” casting doubt on an announcement on Monday that had been seen as good news.

The results of a clinical trial of the two-shot coronavirus vaccine by AstraZeneca and Oxford University to be completely effective at protecting against severe cases of COVID-19. From the Washington Post:

The trials included 32,449 adult participants in all age groups, most of them in the United States. The volunteers received either two standard doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine or a placebo, at a four-week interval, the researchers said.

The scientists said the data show the vaccine is 79 percent effective against symptomatic covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 100 percent effective against severe illness.

There were five cases of severe illness in the trial, all of them in the group that received a placebo.

The independent monitoring board specifically looked for any evidence of possible blood clotting since that was raised as a possible issue in Europe. But the board found nothing in the data that suggested there was any increased risk of clotting. Read the full article here.

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43 Million Americans Are Fully Vaccinated For COVID

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine
Getting my 2nd Pfizer shot today
About one in six adults in the U.S. have now been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus (including me!) according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From The Hill:

The CDC’s vaccine tracker, which was updated Saturday afternoon, shows that 16.7 percent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. More than 40 percent of adults aged 65 years and older are also fully vaccinated.

More than 121 million doses in total have been administered, and nearly 43 million adults are fully inoculated.

More than 21 million of the fully vaccinated adults received the Pfizer shot, followed by 19.8 million who received the Moderna vaccine and 2.15 million who got the Johnson & Johnson shot, which was just recently released.

To reach ‘herd immunity’ scientists tell us we need to reach between 70-85 percent. p.s. After getting on a “leftover list” here in Las Vegas, I received my second Pfizer vaccine shot today #GetVaccinated

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Biden Reaches 100 Million Vaccine Shot Promise In 58 Days

President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to get 100 million vaccine shots in arms before his the end of his first 100 days in office. That goal was reached today – 42 days early. Speaking to reporters at the White House today, Biden said he’ll set a new goal by next week, teasing the possibility of hitting 200 million vaccinations by Day 100. In related news, Biden’s coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients announced today that the U.S. would “loan” Mexico 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1.5 million doses to Canada. Zients said because the AstraZeneca shot is not yet authorized in the U.S., “This loan will not reduce the supply of vaccine to Americans.” Meanwhile, folks took to social media to celebrate the 100 million mark.